The radical Republican faction could block the US government debt deal

WASHINGTON, May 19 (Reuters) – While Democratic US President Joe Biden and Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy have expressed growing confidence that they can strike a debt limit deal and prevent a catastrophic default, approval of the deal could be thwarted at the last minute by radical Congressmen from Republican Party.

A small but powerful group calling itself the Freedom Caucus warned this week that it may try to block any deal to raise the US debt ceiling, currently at $31.4 trillion, unless it involves major cuts in federal spending.

“Maybe the president thinks we’re going to be yelling something like, ‘Oh great, yeah! Anything to get an agreement (on the public debt ceiling)” – but that’s nonsense. We need something that works,” said MP Chip Roy, who is part of the Freedom Caucus.

While there are many variables in the balance of power surrounding the increase in the national debt limit, opposition from this group of Republicans could at least slow the passage of the bill. This is highly undesirable given the Treasury Department’s warning that the federal government may not be able to pay its bills as early as June 1.

Market optimism about the potential deal has helped revive Wall Street over the past two days. Senate Democratic Majority Leader Chuck Schumer appears to share this optimism. He said on Thursday that talks were moving forward and notified senators that they should return to Washington for a possible vote on the deal next week.

However, markets’ optimism could be undermined if negotiations stall. Freedom Caucus members are demanding more fiscal austerity than some Democrats are willing to accept.

The original message in English is available under the code: (David Morgan, translated by Tomasz Kanik)